Re: Beans in crockpot

I have a big crockpot so I put in about 2 pounds of beans and then fill the
pot to the top with water (I'd say roughly you want to leave at least enough
room for the beans to double in size, if they're not pre-soaked). You can't
have too much water since you just drain most of it away anyway. I don't
pre-soak my beans, either. The reason for pre-soaking is primarily to cut
down on cooking time. Since I don't really care how long it takes, I don't
bother with the extra step. If you do pre-soak, you don't have to add as
much water since they've already plumped up. (Yes, I know soaking and then
draining the soaking water cuts down a little on the gas-causing sugars.
This is not generally a problem for us since we're used to eating beans.
Soak or not soak, as you prefer.)
I season my beans after they're cooked. Since I make so much at a time, I
usually divide them up into 1-2 cup portions and freeze in plastic bags then
use them as I would canned beans. *Lots* cheaper than canned.
Most beans cook in 8-10 hours (while you sleep or while you're at work),
garbanzos and soy beans can take as long as double that (I cooked 1 pot of
stubborn garbanzos for 2 days--they were just too old, I think).
DebbieC
-----Original Message-----
From: tony pagac <tpagac@xxxxxxxxx>
To: fatfree@xxxxxxxxxxx <fatfree@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tuesday, July 20, 1999 1:24 PM
Subject: Beans in crockpot
>Hi All !
>
>I'm mostly a lurker but I just had to jump in regarding the beans in the
>crockpot. I
>really like that idea. My beans always seem to come out mushy and not
>hold their
>shape like canned beans. When you cook them in the crockpot how much
>water
>do you add ?? Do you need to add less because the beans plump up after
>soaking
>all nite ??? Really interested in this method.
>
>Eagerly await any responses and thank you so much in advance !!
>
>Toni in HOT Milwaukee
>
>
>